PERSONAL REFLECTION (about 1000 words)

Example topic: How have you been aware of pedagogical applications of textbooks to meet
learners’ needs?

TRADITIONAL TEXTBOOKS

In England, 10 per cent of 10-years old are issued textbooks. In South Korea, the figure is 99 per
cent. In secondary science, 8 per cent of pupils in England are issued with textbooks compared to
88 per cent in South Korea and 92 per cent in Taiwan.

These Asian countries are among the highest performing in the world, according to the OECD’s
latest PISA survey, which evaluates the knowledge and skills of the world’s 15-year-olds. So
why are English schools not using textbooks, when other education systems use them to great
effect?
Cost is a factor, but as important is the growing use of copied worksheets and handouts.
Handouts have certain advantages (bespoke to the class, pupils have to focus on that one piece of
paper) but some disadvantages (easily lost, rarely organized into a file).

Textbooks are dying out because more materials are now available digitally. And the emphasis
on differentiated learning (different children in one class being taught at different rates) has
discouraged the notion of ‘one resource for all’.
The demise of textbooks is a downward spiral – if schools don’t buy textbooks, publishers
cannot afford to produce them. In the past, a small number of outstanding teachers earned a good
living producing wonderful, captivating textbooks and these people are now being lost to the
system.
So what’s so good about textbooks? In my experience, textbooks are better than online resources
or paper handouts in several ways. They are easier to issue (two minutes at the start of the year)
and much easier to refer back to (‘let’s return to page 45 which we did last October’).
They are a big part of the solution for the child who joins a course late or who misses a large
piece of work. They are a resource which parents can use to help their children.
For sixth formers especially, learning to make notes from texts is a vital skill they will need at
university; with the advent of digital materials, fewer and fewer students are learning to make
notes. Textbooks are fare better for revision than handouts (many of which will have been lost).
Textbooks of the past had a huge impact on education. They not only reflected exam board
syllabuses, they influenced them. The best textbooks were the curriculum. They determined the
level to which the better students worked.

FUTURE LEARNING

The memory of lugging heavy textbooks, from school through university, is familiar to many.
Cumbersome yet essential, educational textbooks have traditionally been the mainstay bridge
between students and their teachers.
But with sweeping changes taking place throughout the publishing world as digital takes over, is
there a place for classic format textbooks any more in a student’s educational arsenal?
Old school doesn’t mean old news. Despite the seismic effects of digital in publishing and
education in recent years, the textbook continues to be useful in modern learning environments.
Aside from it being the preference of traditionalists, many schools and colleges still use
textbooks in tandem with digital resources, to create a more dynamic and interactive learning
experience.
One of the notable distinctions of digital learning resources is that they have the capacity to
change how students and teachers interact. Educators can check in with their student’s work
online, for example, and give live feedback at any time. This highlights the power of interactive
learning, as do AI learning apps, which can observe a user’s learning style and habits and
provide tailored resources accordingly.
Open source software is another huge advantage for the digital learning generation. Forums and
shared information platforms pool information, not just from static digital texts but from live
users. Live learning platforms mean users can actively think and respond with informed
opinions, based on the knowledge they share with each other.
One of the potential limitations of digital learning is that an app or piece of software can have
pre-set difficulty ratings, which means the student using it is learning without the benefit of a
teacher’s human judgement on their ability. In this sense apps with pre-set difficulty ratings are
limited in their ability to support learning at an organic pace. One way for apps to remedy this is
to build in a high level of interactivity, meaning educators can tailor learning materials to the
individual user and create a more personalized learning experience.

E-TEXTBOOKS

E-Textbooks are a prime example of the best of textbook and digital together. Combining
essential knowledge for the student in text form with impressive and ever-evolving interactive
options, users can enjoy the best of both worlds. The ingenuity of developers combined with
real-time user feedback means digital education products can grow apace with the consumer in a
shared vision.
This comprehensive report by the University of Washington looks in detail at how students
interacted with e-textbooks over their pilot scheme. It’s worth an in-depth read, but overall the
consensus is that digital is being embraced by learners.
 
LOOKING AHEAD

Whilst the future of the textbook itself is something that time alone will reveal, what is certain is
that the arena of learning resource development is more exciting and dynamic than ever. The
market for textbooks is still very much in existence, with the format remaining relevant at the
moment. However, the inevitable shift towards digital will continue, albeit at a slower pace than
previously anticipated. According to Meris Stansbury, a major 2016 report revealed the slow
pace at which digital materials will be wholeheartedly welcomed;
“Asked when they thought the majority of their course materials would be primarily digital,
almost 25 percent of faculty surveyed indicated “never,” while 17 percent said by Fall 2020,
and 9 percent by Fall 2022. Yet, in contrast, 16 percent of faculty surveyed said that a majority
of their current course materials were digital as of Fall 2015, and 34 percent anticipated
primarily digital course materials by Fall 2018.”
But as centres for education update their facilities in line with current technology advances, and
as students find new and more ingenuous ways to use the resources available to them, education
is certainly no longer teaching only by the book. Publishers are adapting in line with these
changes, and leading the way with dynamic learning materials and online platforms.

TRUONG LY SANG
9 OCT 2019